


Victory and Knowledge Don't Require Death

by thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Family, Fluff, Gen, Team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 04:33:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14348031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey/pseuds/thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey
Summary: Help and good advice can come from unexpected placesOr: what SHOULD'VE happened after the s4 finale





	Victory and Knowledge Don't Require Death

“We’ll never break through that shield!”

Keith eyed the particle barrier analytically. “Maybe not with our weapons.” He pulled the small Galra drone ship back and then shot, full throttle, towards the witch’s ship. His hands shook on the controls. He didn’t want to die, but the mission was more important than the individual; and Voltron was more important than anything. Keith closed his eyes, preparing for impact.

An explosion ripped through the air, and Keith opened his eyes to see Lotor’s ship, a laser fired right through Haggar’s particle barrier. He jerked his ship backwards, but the explosion was too large, and it overcame his tiny ship. He activated his face mask, but the forces and fire were too much.

Before he lost consciousness, he heard Shiro telling him good job.

\-----------------

“-et an oxygen mask on him-”

“-uick, quick, we’re losing him!”

“Where’s the Castle when you need it?!”

Keith felt a mask shoved on his face, and he recoiled. No- the witch had caught him- had snatched him from space- he couldn’t let her have him- couldn’t spill any information-

“Stop struggling, you idiot, we’re trying to save you!”

A familiar face floated above him. “…Pidge?”

“Matt, but close enough! Now stop moving around!”

Keith relaxed and let Olia place the mask on his face, the oxygen hissing into his lungs. Matt poked him gently.

“Hey, we have to put an IV in you. Don’t freak.”

The needle poked into Keith’s skin, but he barely felt it. Why did he need an IV? Had the explosion…

“You’re covered in burns,” Matt scolded him, “Stop trying to move so much! We’re just keeping you alive until the Castle gets here!”

Whatever bed Keith was on started to move, and he heard the voices of his friends, as well as a smooth British voice… Lotor… but his voice was quickly drowned out by the concerned voices of Allura and Coran. Then the healing cold of a cryo pod hissed over him, and he let the darkness take him.

\-----------------

“That was a dumb thing to do.”

Keith glared at Lance. “No, it wasn’t! It was the only way to save you guys!”

Hunk shook his head. “Yeah, but then _you’d_ be dead!”

Keith spread his arms, wincing as he aggravated his burns. “Voltron is more important than I am. If I have to die to protect the universe’s only hope, then so be it.”

Pidge glared at him. “That’s a _terrible_ philosophy!”

“I blame the Blades,” Lance volunteered, “Those guys are bad for you!”

“No, they’re not,” Keith protested, “They’ve helped me see what my place in this war is!”

Pidge snorted. “What, _dying_?!”

“Yeah,” Lance agreed, “When I told you that I was worried about there being more paladins than lions, I didn’t mean for you to go _kill yourself_!”

Keith growled. “I’m not suicidal, if that’s what you think! I didn’t _want_ to die, but it was the only way!”

Hunk shook his head. “That was a bad idea, man! You scared us! Please don’t ever, _ever_ do something like that again!”

“I will if that’s what it takes to bring down Zarkon,” Keith roared. They all stared at him, and he glared at them all. “What we’re doing is more important than any one of us. That’s why I left. That’s why I was willing to die. Because our lives are nothing, _nothing_ if we save the universe.”

“He’s right.” The paladins all swung around to stare in shock at Shiro. “In the long run of things, the mission is more important than the individual.” He put a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “But that’s not how _we_ do things. That’s not what Voltron is about.”

“Well, I’m not part of Voltron anymore,” Keith said coldly, “So that’s not how I see it. And if you can’t see it that way, fine. But that’s only going to hurt you in the end. You’re going to have to make some hard choices, and you won’t like them.”

Shiro sighed. “I hope not. Because that’s the day that Zarkon wins, and we lose, despite the outcome of the battle.

\------------------

Keith slipped out of bed and padded down the hallways. Something was… calling him. Just like the presence of the blue lion had called him in the desert. He wandered through unfamiliar hallways until he opened one last door and found himself face to face with Lotor.

“Hello.”

Keith approached the cell suspiciously and cautiously. “Did you do some kind of Galra trick to lure me down here?”

Lotor spread his hands. “No tricks. I felt you coming, but I didn’t bring you here.”

“Then what did?”

Lotor tapped the glass. “Quintessence. You’re looking for answers. I’m your most likely bet. Your quintessence brought you to me.”

“Fine. Did I do the right thing?”

“Wrong question.”

“Is the mission more important than the individual?”

“Still the wrong question.”

Keith was silent and considered for a minute. “Would my death have meant anything?”

“There we are. In answer, your death itself would have been pointless. One paltry explosion would not have destroyed the particle barrier.”

Keith’s heart plummeted to his shoes. It had been useless. Everything that he’d striven for, and ultimately his sacrifice, would have been worthless.

“However, I do not think that your sacrifice would have been meaningless. Your bravery would be looked up to all over the universe. Your friends, if they still survived, would have doubled their efforts to defeat Zarkon, and this war would have ended sooner.”

Keith looked back at Lotor, hope on his face. The Galra nodded at him.

“It would not have been pointless. But if there is one thing that I’ve learned in my considerable lifespan, it’s that there is _always_ another way around your predicament if you can find it. Sacrifice isn’t always necessary. There are other paths. You shouldn’t always take the most reckless and foolhardy one.”

Keith nodded. “I understand.”

Lotor’s gaze seemed to pierce his soul. “Be sure that you do; your life depends on it.”

\------------------

Kullivan came to bring Keith back to the Blades after he was sure of Keith’s recovery. The paladins were opposed to the idea at first; they wanted to keep Keith with them longer, but Keith fought them down. He knew where he belonged in this war, if only for now. And he knew what his purpose was; to live, not to die, and to fight on.


End file.
